On Monday, March 3, 2025, Makerere University hosted the launch of the 11^th cohort of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) doctoral fellowship. The new cohort comprises 11 females and nine males, drawn from eight partner universities across nine African countries. For the next four years, the group will undergo advanced training through the consortium’s collaborative efforts to strengthen research capacity across the continent.

CARTA, formed in 2008, is a network of eight African partner universities, four research institutes, and eight international collaborators, dedicated to strengthening doctoral training and institutional research capacity in Africa. The consortium is co-led by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), based in Nairobi, Kenya, and the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. Makerere University is a key partner, leading the consortium’s The Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (TERID) East Africa Research Hub.

Among its key interventions, the consortium facilitates targeted and structured training and mentorship aimed at strengthening university-wide research systems. One such initiative is the doctoral fellowship programme’s Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS) started in 2011. JAS is a sequence of four annual seminars designed to support doctoral students registered in different CARTA partner institutions to progress seamlessly through their PhD journeys.

Now, since its inception over a decade ago, the consortium has supported many early career researchers across its partner institutions in Africa, admitting at least 265 doctoral Fellows and graduating over 183 of them. In turn, the Fellows have gone on to contribute to over 4,000 peer-reviewed research publications and secured more than $43 million in research grant awards, applying the skills gained through the intensive CARTA four-year programme.

Of the 183 CARTA graduates, Makerere University has had its fair share, with 25 PhD graduates supported through the consortium. One of them, Dr. Kato Charles Drago of the 3^rd CARTA doctoral fellowship cohort who completed his PhD in clinical immunology and molecular genetics at Makerere University in 2016, is currently a Lecturer and Head, Department of Biotechnical and Diagnostic Sciences, and the Principal Investigator for the TERID Research Hub at Makerere University, where he is leading the efforts to improve disease diagnosis, treatment, and research capacity development within the region.

The ongoing Joint Advanced Seminar One (JAS 1) for the 11^th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, launched last week at Makerere University School of Public Health’s (MakSPH) Resilient Africa Network in Kololo, Kampala, Uganda, runs for three weeks until March 21. Dr. John Bosco Isunju, CARTA Board member and institutional focal person at Makerere University noted that JAS 1 is designed to build critical thinking, technical skills, and core research competencies, critical for exposing the Fellows to key theories, seminal readings, and interdisciplinary research methods to interrogate public and population health.

“For our Fellows, you are joining the best consortium on the continent, to give you the best skills and make you change agents in your institutions. That is really CARTA’s vision. To create a critical mass that will go back and transform the situation in your institutions. What you are going to get here is the skills to write grants and attract resources, and skills to network and make partnerships. The first partners are the colleagues you have around you,” Dr Isunju said.

He revealed that the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 10th cohort, whose JAS 1 training was prematurely concluded in 2020. Since then, no new cohort of CARTA doctoral fellows had been admitted until now. “It has been a long struggle, but thanks to our dedicated partners worldwide who recognize the need and the gap, we are finally here,” Isunju shared.

The current 11^th cohort was possible with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Oak Foundation (OAK), selected from a competitive pool of more than 150 eligible applicants from CARTA partner institutions.

Notably, for the first time, the consortium is having two PhD Fellows coming from Somali National University (SNU), that is: Ms. Amina Hassan Husien and Mr. Gallad Dahir Hassan. The two students will be hosted at Makerere University for their doctoral studies, to aid with capacity development and mentorship. Their research focus will be around maternal and reproductive health, and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance, respectively.

Expressing optimism, Gallad said the fellowship will equip them with the requisite skills to conduct policy-relevant research, ultimately enabling them (the Fellows) make meaningful impact in their home institutions and contribute to Africa’s research and development agenda.

“My research is in disease surveillance system especially vaccines preventable diseases. I want to fill the gap in reporting from the community level. I appreciate CARTA for providing us with this invaluable opportunity and Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze for her efforts to secure the two positions for Somalia National University to be mentored at Makerere University.” He said.

For her part, officiating the launch of the 11th cohort of the CARTA doctoral fellowship, Makerere University School of Public Health Dean, Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze, expressed gratitude for the support to help the Fellows through their PhD journeys. However, she challenged the Fellows to look beyond simply earning their PhD qualifications and instead focus on making meaningful contributions that improve lives and impact communities.

“I know each of you has likely defined what success looks like at the end of this programme or even 10 years from now. But I urge you to go beyond personal achievement and add to that impacting others, shaping the world around you, starting with Africa, and speaking for something you are really passionate about,” Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze emphasized.

She also noted that the 11th cohort is unique, because they are starting their PhD journey amid major global changes. While these shifts may pose a challenge, she said they also present an opportunity to rethink how health systems are structured, financed, and coordinated, to enhance the promotion of global health equity and access to critical services.

The CARTA doctoral fellowship supports PhD students at partner institutions through the Joint Advanced Seminars (JAS), in addition to offering stipend, research funding, essential equipment and software, and coverage for tuition, medical insurance, and travel. Fellows also receive mentorship, supervisory support, networking opportunities, and training in grant writing and research dissemination, including support for presentations at international conferences. The fellowship is open to staff from CARTA partner institutions.

Dr. Florah Karimi, the CARTA Program Manager for Institutionalization and Scientific Quality and the Head of Research and Capacity Strengthening at APHRC, Kenya, stated that CARTA’s structured doctoral model has transformed PhD education in African universities, integrating mentorship and interdisciplinary approach to training to produce scholars who are well equipped for global academic and policy engagement.

“CARTA has grown, and we now consider ourselves a proven concept. We deeply appreciate the support from our partner institutions, which have been instrumental in shaping what CARTA is all about. As more institutions come on board, we have reached a point where this is no longer just about us. We are influencing our universities, shaping individual careers, and now, we must extend that impact to other institutions,” Dr. Karimi noted passionately. 

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The College Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (CoVAB) is delighted to share a call for manuscripts for potential publication in two distinguished journals: the African Journal of Animal and Biomedical Sciences (AJABS) and the One Health and Global Health Security Journal (One Health-GHS).

AJABS: A leading platform for innovative research in animal science and biomedicine.

One Health-GHS: A global journal addressing infectious diseases, public health at the human-animal-environment interface, and biomedical research focusing on human, animal, and ecosystem health.

The two journals are now hosted by Makerere University Press.

Topics of Interest include, but are not limited to:

• Animal health and welfare
• Emerging zoonotic diseases
• Biomedical research and advancements
• One-health perspectives and initiatives

We encourage submissions of original research, review articles, and case studies as detailed in the downloads below.

For inquiries or to submit your manuscript, kindly contact Dr. Joseph M. Kungu at covabjournals2025@gmail.com or deputy.principal@mak.ac.ug.

As the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) family, we close 2024 celebrating the collective efforts that have upheld our commitment to building a vibrant multidisciplinary African academy leading world-class research. This year, a significant focus has been on institutionalizing CARTA interventions within our African partner institutions, reflected in this issue’s theme: ‘Model of Sustainable Research Capacity Strengthening.’

Since CARTA’s establishment in 2008 and the launch of its first PhD fellowship in 2011, our mission has been clear: to train PhD fellows as research leaders and transform research training in Africa. Over time, innovative research capacity-strengthening interventions have proven highly effective. With this success, CARTA has prioritized the mainstreaming of these interventions at partner institutions during its second (2016 – 2020) and third (2021 – 2025) strategic phases. Substantial resources have been invested to ensure these efforts reshape individual institutions’ research environments and Africa’s broader Research and Development (R&D) ecosystem.

Key achievements include research infrastructural grants, the publication of adaptable research training curricula, and training over 2000 partner institution staff as supervisors, research support staff, and Trainers of Trainers (ToTs).

As these interventions are mainstreamed, hundreds of postgraduate students including master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral fellows are benefiting directly or indirectly, as research cultures evolve. Six institutions have already adopted CARTA’s training interventions, with others in the process.

Mentorship remains central to CARTA’s approach. By fostering mentorship at individual, departmental, and institutional levels, CARTA has cultivated change agents driving the philosophy of research capacity strengthening within and beyond the consortium. This ripple effect is transforming research environments, not just at partner institutions but across Africa.

Over the past 15 years, CARTA, in collaboration with global funders and partners has sought to answer these questions. This newsletter highlights stories of change from our partner institutions, showcasing how empowering individuals, building a critical mass of research-active faculty, and strengthening institutional frameworks are reshaping the research landscape across the continent.

Cavens Kithinji
CARTA Program Coordinator

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